Local News Archives

Benton Harbor authorities are looking for a man accused of trying to abduct a 14-year-old girl Monday morning. It happened around 6:45 a.m. on the city’s north side at the girl’s bus stop at the corner of Main and Hull. She tells police the man grabbed her from behind, but she was able to run off. The man is 5’9″ and was wearing a dark blue or black Nike sweatshirt. Public Safety Director Dan McGinnis tells us they don’t know the suspect’s race, but say he had been seen dressed in the same clothes and in the same area on Friday. Benton Harbor Public Safety officials are urging parents to be especially vigilant and walk their kids to the bus stop, and stay with them if possible until they’re picked up for school.. ...Read Full Story

Police in Buchanan are looking for an armed robbery suspect. He pulled a gun on the clerk at a convenience store Sunday just after 11:30 a.m. in the 200 block of South Oak street and got away northbound on the street with cash out of the register. No one was hurt. Surveillance photos released by the police department show the suspect on top of the counter demanding the cash. He is described as a black male in his 20s who was dressed in a red hoodie with a face mask, black pants, black gloves and black boots. Anyone who knows anything about the robbery is urged to call Buchanan police.. ...Read Full Story

The endorsement of Gretchen Whitmer for governor by Hillary Clinton isn’t necessarily a shock, but the Republican National Committee is having some fun with it. RNC communications director for Indiana and Michigan, Michael Joyce, put out a statement mocking the endorsement by saying “It’s great that Hillary Clinton endorsed Gretchen Whitmer; nobody knows how to win Michigan better than Hillary Clinton.”. ...Read Full Story

The two officers involved in the arrest of a man who died in police custody earlier this month are back on the job. Berrien Springs Oronoko Township Police Chief Paul Toliver says his officer and the Berrien County Sheriff’s deputy were returned to active duty today after being placed on paid administrative leave on October 22. 51-year-old Jack Lunneen of Berrien Springs died at Spectrum Health Lakeland that morning after being arrested for malicious destruction of property in Berrien Springs. As the officers were trying to arrest him in a bank parking lot, Chief Tolliver says Lunneen resisted and needed to be restrained, but no details on that have been released. When the officers noticed the man having medical issues, they called for an ambulance. Michigan State Police is handling the investigation, and the names of the officers involved haven’t been made public.. ...Read Full Story

A $62 million refueling and maintenance outage is underway at the Palisades Power Plant. Officials with parent company Entergy say the outage will keep the nuclear plant running safely until it’s permanently shut down in 2022. It began Sunday and started 15 days after the plant was taken offline to replace a control rod drive seal and a transformer. Entergy is bringing in around 1,000 workers to help the 600 full-time employees at Palisades with the refueling outage as they do upgrades, inspections, and replacements that can’t be done while the facility is generating power. This is the 26th refueling outage in the plant’s 47-year history.. ...Read Full Story

The OutCenter in Benton Harbor is blasting some reported plans of the Trump administration regarding transgender Americans. The New York Times reported last weekend on a memo from the Oval Office to the Department of Health and Human Services directing that department to define gender as either male or female, as assigned at birth. The OutCenter’s Mary Jo Schnell tells WSJM News this is another in a series of blows to transgendered Americans.. ...Read Full Story

Landmark opioids legislation has been signed into law by President Trump. The SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act was put together over about the past year with input from dozens of lawmakers, including Congressman Fred Upton. He tells us it passed the House and Senate with broad support. Upton told us about some of his contributions.. ...Read Full Story

With the possibility of marijuana being legalized by voters in next month’s election, what will this mean for job applicants? Mary Corrado is president and CEO of the American Society of Employers and told Michigan News Network fewer employers are screening for pot use because if they did, they wouldn’t have any workers.. ...Read Full Story

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has stocked lakes and rivers around the state with more than 21 million fish so far this year. The DNR’s Elyse Walter tells WSJM News the fish stocking program goes back well over 100 years with the oldest hatchery dating back to 1901. They breed fish and pump them into waters all over.. ...Read Full Story